The King of Limbs

At times, it seems as if there's no point trying to review an album by Radiohead. India has never had a tradition of music criticism, specifically music from the West, nor does it look as if we're moving in that direction anytime soon. Having said that though, the only point in reviewing a Radiohead album at all, at least for this critic, is to try and nudge more people in their direction.

And so, The King of Limbs -- eight tracks that sound like Kid A: The Sequel, or the best new music of 2011, depending on how much time you're willing to invest listening to it. I strongly recommend at least a couple of weeks. The first, second, even third listens are inconsequential in this particular case. It is only by the fourth or fifth time one plays Feral or Lotus Flower that the seemingly random bleeps and clicks start to fade, letting the carefully built spacious sound beneath come through.

Thom Yorke continues to mumble though much of the album -- which, at all of 37 minutes, is the band's shortest release to date -- but occasionally takes the trouble to enunciate (Morning Mr Magpie, Little by Little).
One sometimes gets the nagging feeling that he and the band are parodying themselves; something that will sound believable to those who have watched the documentary Meeting People Is Easy. Then again, maybe they're just working on a soundscape that the rest of us have to work harder to try and latch on to.
Love them or despise them, Radiohead undeniably deserve attention. If and when we head towards a nuclear war, I know what I'll be listening to.